Shanxi to boost cultural heritage protection

Shanxi province is stepping up its efforts to promote the inheritance, development, and revitalization of local intangible cultural heritage (ICH). 

The province will improve the related policy and regulatory framework, as well as the listing system for the protection of ICH artifacts. It will conduct in-depth research into local ICH items that are at risk of being forgotten by future generations, as well as researching traditional folk art projects, while also documenting their preservation, policy support, and market development. This will pave the way for more effective measures to ensure the effective inheritance and development of ICH. 

Shanxi will enhance guidance in ICH inheritance, making ICH learning activities a regular practice. It will enrich platforms for the display of ICH, and carry out ICH protection in towns, sub-districts, communities, and villages, with a focus on exploring community rights in protecting such cultural assets.

Successful models of sustainable interaction between ICH protection and ancient towns, traditional villages, and tourist attractions, for instance, have been formed in Liujiapu village in Taiyuan city, Baiyangpo village in Changzhi city, and Daiyang ancient town scenic area. 

Furthermore, the province will continue to develop the ICH-related shopping festivals, theme towns, travel routes, workshops, and tourism experience bases, as well as commendable examples of ICH protection. The focus will be on promoting the dynamic inheritance and contemporary expression of ICH items, enhancing their social influence and reputation of the province. 

Shanxi boasts rich and distinctive ICH resources with the number of its national-level ICH items ranking third in the country. There are 182 representative ICH projects and 149 national representative ICH promoters in Shanxi.